Mechanical motor



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. WILLETT.

MECHANICAL MOTOR.

No. 395,099. Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

n 'i'lcesses ill 61660) JVZE yIr N PETERS, Pmln-Liahugm her. Washington,0,6.

(No Model.) I 2 SheetsSheet 2. G. WILLETT.

MECHANICAL MOTOR. No. 395,099. Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

ion? 71/ 7" Q 14 77555616 JZJLVJ' lln'iTEn STATES PATENT @EETEE.

GEORGE wILLETT, oE cnioaeo, ILLINOIS.

MECHANICAL MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,099, dated December25, 1888. Application fi1edSeptember16,188'7- serinmzaasse. momma) Toall whom it maycmwern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE ILLETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicage, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mechanical Motors,which is fully set forth in the following specification, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a viewillustratingmy improved motor as applied to the propulsion of a boat;Fig. 2, a side elevation of the motor detached; Fig. 3, a plan view ofthe same; Fig. 4, a sectional view taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2, andlooking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 5, a rear elevation of oneof the clutches and its carriage detached; Fig. 6,adetailsec'- tionalview of the same, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. i; and Fig. 7, a detailsectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. Figs. 2 and 3 are on thesame scale with respect to each other, but on a larger scale than 1,while Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, are on the same scale with respect toeach other, but on a still larger scale than Figs. 2 and 3.

Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

My invention relates to mechanical motors, and has for its object toprovide an efficient motor by means of which reciprocatingmotion may beconverted into rotary motion.

I will. now proceed to describe a construction in which I havepractically carried out and applied my invention in one form, and willthen particularly point out in the claims those features which I deem tobe new and desire to protect by Letters Patent. 7 I will first, however,state that, although I have shown and will describe this one particularapplication of the motor, I do so onl-yt'or c011- venience in describingits construction and operation, as it will be understood that the sameis of general application and may be used anywhere where a motor of itsdescription may be employed.

In the drawings, A represents a boat, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,).13 the propeller thereof, and U the propeller-shaft, which in thepresent instance is of course the shaft to which a rotary motion isimparted by the motor. At its forward end the shaft is provided with agear-wheel, c, by means of which l it is driven.

D represents a suitable base upon which the motor is mounted, this basebeing pro= vided at each end with uprights (Z,wl1ich serve as a supportfor the various portions of the mechanism, as hereinafter described.

The shaft Chas its forward bearing in the rear upright d. Upon each sideof the base D and parallel with the shaft 0 is arranged a spiral orscrew, E, mounted to revolve in suit able bearings on the supports (1.Preferably these bearings are constructed in the manner shown in detailin Fig. 7 of the drawings, in

i which a screw, D, provided with a check-nut,

(1', extends through a suitably-tln'eaded aperture in the upright ('1,its projecting unthreaded end (1 entering a suitable socket or recess inthe end of the spiral in a cylindrical hub, l, to which the end of thespiral i is secured. By this means a bearing is provided which willresist the end-thrust of the spirals, and by means of which any wear maybe readily taken up. The rear ends of the spirals or their hubs E at therear end are each provided with a gear, 6, the said gear meshing withthe gear on the shaft The spirals E are twisted in the same direction,or, in other words, are threaded alike.

The operating mechanism For the spirals is the same for each of them,and I will therefore describe the mechanism of one only, it beinguluilerstood that the same description is applicable to the other.Parallel with the axis of the spiral are arranged ways f, upon which ismounted a carriage, F, which travels upon the said ways. Each carriageis provided with an internal cylindrical chamber, within which fits asimilarly-shaped nut, 'G, which is retained by apertured end disks, F,secured to the body of the carriage. The

ceive the spiral E, which passes through the said aperture, and thusengages with the nut. in order to reduce the friction, the aperture g isprovided with rollers G, mounted on axes g, carried by the nut G.arranged in the aperture g and are parallel with each other, the spiralE passing between thesaid rollers, as shown more particularly in Fig. 4of the drawings. The nut G is con- .nut G has an aperture, as shown atg, to re- The rollers G are nected to the carriage F by means of anysuitreceive rollers F seated within the said recesses. Each recess isprovided with an inclined wall, f extending toward the wall of thechamber in the manner shown in Fig. 4c of the drawings. The oppositewall, f of each recess f is shaped to conform to the roller F ,WhlOl1 isarranged within said recess, and the entire recess is at this point ofsuch dimensions that the roller F may rest therein without being incontact or without binding against the periphery of the nut G. Twosimilar recesses, f, are formed in the wall of the chamber of thecarriage F,in which recesses rollers F are mounted. The recesses 2 4 areeach rovided with an inclined wall 5 these walls having an oppositeinclination to roller F within the said recess.

H indicates a band surrounding the bed of the carriage F and capable ofmovement around the said'carriage within certain limits, being providedwith a han dle, H, by means of which it may be actuated. The band H isprovided with pins h, extending radially inward through suitable slots,f in the nut G. These pins h extend into the corresponding recesses, fon that side of the rollers F therein on which the inclined walls f arelocated. The band H is also provided with similar pins, h, extendinginward through slots f into the recesses f. The object of this band andits pins is to provide a reversing mechanism by means of which theentire operation of the clutch may be at any time reversed by holdingeither the rollers F or the rollers F in an inoperative position.

In the position of the parts shown in Fig. l of the drawings the pins71/ bear against the rollers F and hold them against the wall f of therecesses f in which position they are inoperative and have no contactwith the periphery of the nut G. By movin the handle H to the right thepins 7L on the band ll may be caused to engage the rollers F and holdthem similarly in inoperative position, while at the same time the pins71 will be so moved as to release the rollers F.

WVhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, itwill be seen that the nut G may rotate freely in the carriage F in thedirection indicated by the arrow, the rollers F affording no resistanceto such a movement, but turning freely within the recesses f. Upon anymovement of the nut G in the opposite direction, however, the rollers Fwill immediately bind between the inclined walls f of the recesses f andthe periphery of the nut G, and will effectually lock the said nut andprevent its rotation. It will thus be seen that the nut G may, asdesired, be permitted to rotate freely in either direction, and at thesame time be prevented from rotating in the opposite direction. The twocarriages F are connected to each other by means of a rope, cable, orchain, 1, passing around suitable pulleys, 11, arranged at the rear ofthe bed D. If desired, a similar rope, I, passing around pulleys t" atthe front of the bed I), may be employed to further connect thecarriages F. Each carriage may be provided, if desired, wit-h groovedwheels f to travel on the ways f. \Yhen the carriage is intended to bepropelled by footpower, which I prefer for this purpose, each carriagewill be provided with a pivoted foot rest or pedal, J, supported betweenarms j, attached to the carriage, and a seat, J, for the operator willbe arranged above and slightly in the rear of the motor. It will beunderstood, however, that the motor maybe also actuated by hand,

if desired, or in any other suitable manner,

to impart a reciprocating motion to the carriages F.

The apparatus thus organized operates in the following manner: Theoperator upon the seat J places his feet upon their respective pedals Jand shoves forward first one carriage and then the other, thus impartingto the said carriages a simultaneous motion of reciprocation in oppositedirections. 3y reason of the connected ropes I and I the forward motionof one carriage returns the other carriage to its original position.During the forward motion of the right-hand carriage F the nut G carriedby said carriage is prevented from rotating my means of the rollers Fand. consequently imparts a movement of rotation to the spiral E, whichis transmitted through the gear 0 of said spiral and the gear a on theshaft C to the said shaft, and consequently to the propeller l3 thereon.During this forward movement of the right-hand carriage the left-handcarriage moves to the rear, and the nut G in said left-hand carriage isfree to rotate within the carriage, and thus permit the rearwardmovement thereof, it being understood, of course, that themotionimparted to the right-hand spiral E by the forward movement of theright-hand carriage and its nut is also imparted to the left-hand spiralE, which renders it necessary that the nut in the'said left-handcarriage should be free to rotate during the rearward movement of thecarriage. The left-hand carriage F is then moved forward, and, the nut Gtherein being locked and prevented from rotating by means of the rollersF a movement of rotati on is imparted to the left-hand spiral E, andthence through the gearing to the shaft 0 and propeller B thereof.During the forward move ment of the left-hand carriage the right-handcarriage moves back and returns to its original position, which is shownin the drawings.

It will thus be seen that the forward movement of each carriage impartsa movement of rotation to the corresponding spiral, which movement istransferred to the shaft 0. It will also beobserved that each nut isfixed during its forward movement and free to rotate during its returnmovement. The spi *als G, being twisted in the same direction, impart apractically-contiinious movement to the shaft 0, and consequently to thepropeller, whereby the boat is caused to advance in an obvious manner.\Vhen it is desired to reverse the action, or, in other words, to rotatethe propeller in the opposite direction, the band H of each carriage isshifted over in the manner hereinbefore described, thus holding therollers F in inoperative position and cansing the rollers F to operate.hen the parts are in this position, the nuts are stationary during theirrearward travel and free to rotate during their forward travel, so thatobviously the direction of rotation of the spirals G, and consequentlyof the shaft 0 and propeller I will be reversed. The employment of therollers G reduces the friction to a minimum, so that very little poweris absorbed thereby. The speed may also be varied as desired by varyingthe relative size of the gears e and c, for it will be readily seen thatrelative speed of the shaft C and spirals E maybe varied as desired byproperly proportioning the gearing and connecting the same. Theconnecting ropes or cables insure simultaneous operation of thecarriages and cause them both to be actuated by the forward thrustapplied to one of them only.

Behind each of the rollers F and F is arranged a spring, f which tendsto forcethe rollers toward the inclines f and f", respectively, in orderto cause them to engage with the said inclines to quickly obtain areversal of the movement of the parts.

It is obvious that, although I have shown my improved motor as appliedto the propulsion of a boat and as adapted to be actmtted by foot-power,it is not limited to this particular application or mode ofa-et-uz'tting. It may be employed in any situation where itis desired toconvert recipmcating into rotary motion, and reciprocation maybeimparted to the carriages by anysuitable means. Moreover, two or more ofthese motors maybe employed at the same time, the shaft (l beingsuflieientl y extended for that purpose and being provided with thenecessary gearing. I am enabled to employ two or more motors in thismanner, for the reason that the operation of each motor is entirelyindependent of the operation of the others, the spirals and their nutsbeing free to turn in the carriages when driven from the shaft Variousmodifications in the details ofconstruciion may also be made. Forinstance, instead ol. placing the upper wheels, f, above the upper ways,f, as shown in the drawings, I may, and in some cases prefer to, placethe said wheels below the same. These wheels may, however, be entirelydispensed with, the carriages being in that case provided with sleevesor equivalent devices which embrace or fit upon the ways to hold thecarriages in place. I therefore do not wish to be understood as limitingmyself to the precise details hereinbefore described, and shown in thedrawings.

I-Iaving described my invention ,wha-tl claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters lPat cut, is

1. The combination, with the shaft, of spirals connected thereto bysuitable gearing and a reciprocating carriage for each spiral, providedwith a rotatable nut through which the spiral passes, and which isconnected to the carriage by a suitable clutch mechanism, substantiallyas and for the purposes specie fled.

2. The combination, with the shaft, of spirals on each side thereofparallel with the same and connected thereto by suitable gearing, areciprocating carriage for each spiral, and a rotatable nut mounted ineach of said carriages, connected thereto by suitable clutch mechanism,and engaging the spirals to rotate the same, substantially as and forthe purposes specified.

3. The combination, with the shaft 0, having gear 0, of the spirals E,provided with gears e to mesh with the gear (3, the reciprocatingcarriages F, one for each spiral, a nut mounted in each carriage andconnected thereto by a suitable clutch mechanism and engagin g with thespiral, and a rope or cable passing around suitable pulleys andconnecting the two carriages, substantially and for the purposesspecified.

l. The combination, with the shaft (1, of the spirals E, connectedthereto by suital'ile gearing, the carriages 1 one for each spiral, eachprovided with a nut, G, connected thereto by suitable clutch mechanismand engaging the spirals, foot-rests .I, mounted on the carriages, and aseat, .l, arranged above and in the rear of the spirals, substantiallyas and for the purposes specified.

5. In a device for converting motion, the

combination, with the shaft, of the spiral mounted to revolve insuitable bearings and connected to the shaft by suitable gearing, thereciprocating carriage, the nut mounted in said carriage and connectedthereto by suitable cluicli mechanism, said nut being provided with acentral aperture through which the spiral passes, and rollers mounted insaid aperture and bearing upon the spiral, substantially as and for thepurposes specified. o. The combination, with the shaft, of the spiralsconnected therei o by suitable gearing, a reciprocating carriage foreach spiral, and a rotatablenutmount-ed in each carriage, provided withan aperture through which the correspondin spiral passes, and connectedto the carriage by a reversible clutch mechanism, substantially as andfor the purposes specifled.

7. In a device for converting motion, the respectively, in saidrecesses, and the band I-I, combination, with the spiral E, of therotatprovided with pins h and 7L, extending into able nut G, providedwith a central aperture l said recesses, the said band being movable inthrough which said. spiral passes, the carriage order to hold either therollers or F in in- 5 F, reciprocating in the line of the axis of saidoperative position, substantially as and for 15 spiral and provided witha cylindrical chanithe PUl'POSGS specified.

ber to receive the nut G, said carriage being GEOEGE \YILLETT. providedin the wall of said chamber with l \Vitnesses: recesses f and f havingoppositely-inclined IRVINE MILLER,

10' walls f andf, the rollers l" and F, arranged, A. MCTVER.

